These days , most discussions of nature focus on
all that is going wrong: climate change, species extinction, toxic
pollution, and other impending disasters. In the midst of this
much-needed reflection, let us not forget our deep and intrinsic
connection to the natural world—a bond that can motivate, sustain,
and inform all our efforts. Nurturing children’s connection to
nature is one crucial step in our multi-faceted struggle to save
the planet, and in turn the solace of the natural world can also
become a lifeline for many children.

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A little slimy fun can go a long way: mounting evidence shows
that contact with nature deeply affects children’s emotional
wellbeing and ability to focus. Here, a girl plays with algae in
Vernonia, Oregon.

Small children have an inherent attraction to nature. On a
recent camping trip with my daughter, Cassidy, and her friend
Julius, I witnessed this attraction in a vivid way. After a morning
spent playing in and around playhouse-sized tree stumps and
patiently watching banana slugs travel up their arms, Cassidy and
Julius discovered a five-year-old’s paradise: a shallow river beach
covered with slimy, green algae. Just entering the phase of
childhood where all things gross hold a deep fascination (“Yucky
things are fun!” Cassidy explained), they sat themselves down in
the water and delightedly spent the afternoon making algae pies and
slime castles, finally stretching out in the water, faces to the
sun, hair streaming out, covering themselves with the slippery
goo.

Obviously, an entertaining and memorable afternoon. But we are
just beginning to understand that this slimy fun also has deeper
reverberations in children’s lives. In 2005, the publication of
Richard Louv’s book The Last Child in the Woods: Saving
Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder helped to seed a growing
movement of psychologists, educators, parents, and researchers
dedicated to deepening our understanding of children’s need for
nature and implementing this knowledge in tangible ways in our
families, schools, and communities (see childrenandnature.org). As
a psychologist and a mother, I have followed with great interest
the mounting evidence that contact with nature strengthens and
supports children’s attentional capacity, emotional well-being,
creativity, and social relationships.

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Safe outdoor play is hard to come by in urban settings, so
hikes, camping trips, and other programs offered by regional parks,
community organizations, and schools can become a lifeline. Here, a
park ranger takes a school class on a nature walk.

This knowledge comes none too soon. The present generation of
children faces unprecedented levels of nature deprivation. From
city children growing up without green spaces to techno-addicted
suburbanites, young people today are increasingly growing up within
human-created structures. For the past several generations, we have
seen a steady shift away from unstructured outdoor play in the face
of increased achievement pressure, parental worries about safety,
and the onslaught of electronic technology. For example, a
nationwide survey of eight-year-olds through eighteen-year-olds
conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2009 found that young
people were engaged with various forms of entertainment media for a
staggering seven-and-a-half hours a day on average, a figure that
does not include time spent with computers related to schoolwork or
talking and texting on cell phones.

Cognitive and Emotional Benefits of Time in Nature

At the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Andrea Faber Taylor and her
colleagues have been uncovering nature’s role in helping children
focus their attention. Their studies focused on the children who
need the most help: those suffering from Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The disorder affects approximately
3–7 percent of school-age children and is frequently treated by
psychotropic drugs with significant side effects. In the first of a
series of studies exploring nature as a “treatment,” Taylor and her
colleagues asked parents to nominate activities that seemed to
improve or worsen their children’s symptoms. Consistently, these
parents listed activities that occurred in “green, outdoor
settings” such as camping, hiking, and fishing as most helpful. On
the other hand, indoor activities, such...

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